Wireless communication systems transfer data packets between User Equipment (UE) to provide data communication services, like internet access, voice calls, media streaming, user messaging, among other communication services. Wireless communication systems allow users to move about and communicate over the air with access communication.
Some wireless communication systems use Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) to exchange wireless data with UEs. In OFDM communication systems, resource blocks are used to transfer data simultaneously over various time slots and frequency carriers. One popular wireless communication system that uses the resource block allocation scheme of OFDM communication systems is Long Term Evolution (LTE) communication networks.
A wireless communication system may employ Carrier Aggregation (CA). CA allows communication networks to use multiple resource blocks simultaneously for a UE. A UE uses CA to increase data throughput and transmission speeds to a wireless access point. Wireless communication systems can aggregate carriers over various frequency bands using Intra-Band Contiguous CA, Intra-Band Non-Contiguous CA, and Inter-Band CA. Intra-Band Contiguous CA uses component carriers that are in the same frequency band and are adjacent to each other. Intra-Band Non-Contiguous CA uses component carriers that are in the same frequency band but are not adjacent to each other. Inter-Band CA uses component carriers that are in different frequency bands.
To expand or enhance the wireless signal coverage of a wireless communication network, wireless communication relays are added to locations not adequately covered by current network infrastructure. A relay exchanges wireless signaling and data between UEs and another wireless access point. Without the signal repetition provided by the wireless relay, the coverage area of the wireless access point may otherwise have not extended far enough to serve the UEs using the relay. Thus, a wireless relay provides a less resource intensive means for increasing wireless network coverage. Wireless relays typically backhaul traffic through a communication link to a donor base station.
CA configurations for relays and UEs may be set up upon attachment or be activated and deactivated based on CA thresholds, such as a buffer occupancy threshold and secondary cell Modulation and Coding Scheme (MCS) index threshold. While providing CA to both relays and UEs may allow a higher throughput rate, this may also lead to a limited number of resources available to wireless access points serving additional relays and UEs. Unfortunately, existing techniques of controlling CA between a wireless relay and a UE based on CA thresholds are neither effective nor efficient.